Hiro Tanaka
Professor | Ph.D. in Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Course
Field of Mechanical Engineering
In his course on mechanics of materials, Professor Tanaka centers his lectures on explaining underlying principles, then assigns exercise problems of varying patterns so that students build the ability to apply them, with teaching designed to let a diverse range of students learn efficiently at their own level. His research addresses the deformation of complex solid materials and structures that lie beyond the scope of coursework, and the name of his research group reflects a broader goal: establishing a discipline capable of freely controlling structural deformation on the basis of mechanics.
Constructing and Evaluating Mechanical Models of Soft Structures and Materials
What students can learn
Building on mechanics of materials and solid mechanics, students learn the relationship between force and deformation in solid substances and structures, knowledge that will prove useful in future product design, while also cultivating the habit of thinking through problems carefully and deliberately.
Many soft solid materials, such as those found in biological structures, possess a sparse internal framework, a lattice-like architecture. This research analyzes the distinctive deformation behavior of such lattice structures with the aim of creating new functions and properties unique to solid materials. By applying the resulting insights to ultra-lightweight design and related applications, the work seeks to build foundational technology that can help sustain manufacturing in a future society facing resource scarcity.
Predicting Friction and Wear in Soft Materials
What students can learn
Students develop measurement techniques and data-analysis skills. Because this is a collaborative research theme, they also build the communication skills needed to work with scientists and engineers from partner organizations.
This research investigates friction and wear phenomena in soft materials such as rubber and gels. A tire rolling on a road surface offers an intuitive example: road surfaces contain irregularities of many different sizes, and the tire rubber sliding across them makes contact with, and deforms to follow, each of these features. This research aims to clarify this highly challenging multiscale contact-deformation problem, with the goal of contributing to society through the comprehensive optimization of tire rubber and road-surface interactions.
